Men's Basketball

BALLARD HIRED TO JOIN BLACK & GOLD SIDELINES

Apr 05, 2012

RICHMOND, Va. – Head Coach Shaka Smart has announced the hiring of Jeremy Ballard as an assistant coach for the Black & Gold. Ballard comes to VCU after spending the past five seasons at the University of Tulsa.

"I am extremely excited about the addition of Jeremy Ballard to our staff," Smart said. "He comes from a very good coaching pedigree and possesses a terrific combination of work ethic, charisma and basketball knowledge."

Ballard fills the vacancy left when former assistant Jamion Christian was named Head Coach at Mount St. Mary's last week. It is the second consecutive year that a VCU assistant has been handed the reins to their own program.

"I am thrilled to be joining Coach Smart and his staff at VCU," Ballard said. "What they have accomplished over the last three years is nothing short of remarkable and I look forward to the opportunity help sustain and hopefully surpass the standard of success that has been set here."

During his five years at Tulsa, Ballard helped guide the Golden Hurricanes to 109 victories, including three 20-plus win seasons. During his time at TU, the Golden Hurricanes had nine all-conference honorees, including a first-team member in each of the past four seasons.

In his first season at TU, the Golden Hurricanes piled up 25 wins and a berth in the Conference USA Championship game. They eventually went on to roll to the inaugural CBI Championship. That postseason appearance was followed up with back-to-back NIT showings.

Prior to his time with the Golden Hurricanes, Ballard spent time as an assistant at Mercer and his alma mater, Colgate University. He was a four-year member of the Raiders basketball program, serving as a captain during his senior season.

During his time as a student-athlete at Colgate, Ballard won the highly prestigious ECAC Merit Medal Award twice, becoming only third player in Colgate history to do so. He twice earned Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recognition and was given the title of the team's best defensive player by the coaching staff during his senior season.

Ballard graduated from Colgate from 2003 with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Religion. He is joined by his wife, Khatera.